SEARCH CurtainUp
REVIEWS
FEATURES
NEWS (Etcetera)
ADDRESS BOOKS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
NYC Weather
Berkshire ReviewThe White Oak Dance Project at Jacobs Pillow
|
White Oak Dance Project allows us to understand Einstein's imagining of time. Their performances make it possible to envision all the times of modern dance bending together, refracting the past forward, the future back. They embody for us a delicious, vivid and absolute present. --- from the Jacobs Pillow program notes. |
Those who haven't seen any of the ad hoc groups of dancers who have made some 40 national and international tours (over 600 performances) since 1990 when Baryshnikov and Mark Morris set out on a mission of establishing a small touring company which would afford established and emerging choreographers to create new dances and mount existing works for dancers from diverse backgrounds. The project takes its name from the White Oak Plantation -- a 7,500 acre wildlife preserve on the Florida-Georgia border owned by Baryshnikov's close friend and art patron, the late Howard Gilman. It is here, in specially built facilities, the dancers of White Oak Dance Project first came together and rehearsed and where they continue to enjoy the perfect setting to retreat and work on new projects.
Mikhail Baryshnikov in "Largo" by Lucinda Childs
(Photo: Scott Suchman)
|
The Jacobs Pillow evening is typically White Oak in that it includes a variety of dances that validate the above quoted connection between Einstein's imagining of time and White Oak's embodiment of dance as a blend of past, present and future. The four selections go back to 1961 (Eric Hawkins' Early Floating) and move to the present with a commissioned work by cutting edge British choreographer Sarah Michelson. A White Oak regular, Lucinda Child provides the bookends, a solo originally danced by her and here by Baryshnikov (Largo) and her newest work, Chacony for the entire company.
The most unusual and likely to divide the younger and older members of the audience is Ms. Michelson's The Experts which features a video of a racing car which comes whizzing across an overhead screen (the kind used for translated text in operas) as often as the dancers group and regroup with groans of quot;Ahhhh" by some countered by a firm "yes" by others. I found The Experts somewhat too gimmicky and found the older Hawkins segment more impressive. At the Wednesday night performance I attended, when car #20 zoomed across the screen one last time, the audience errupted into loud cheers. I should add that this reaction was not universal, and some of the more conventionally inclined dance lovers were visibly less enthusiastic. My favorite overheard comments were "Ahhh -- No!" and, from one of the many Florida snowbirds who summer in the Berkshires, "I don't think this would go over big in Boynton Beach."
Anyone who wants to get better acquainted with Ms. Michelson's work, will be able to do so at Friday's Inside/Out -- the free programs at 6:30 on the beautiful outdoor stage with the beautiful Berkshire mountains and skyline as its background.
While White Oak programs often feature live music, the music here is disappointingly all "canned." The ensemble, however, is exemplary, with red-headed Emily Coates a standout.
For details about the many other exciting events to be performed the rest of the seasons, check out the website listed in the production notes below.
| WHITE OAK DANCE PROJECT Dancers: Miguel Anaya, Mikhail Baryshikov, Zne Booker, Emily Coates, Jennifer Howard, Roger C. Jeffrey, Sonja Kostich, Rosalynde LeBlanc Largo (2001), choreographed by Lucinda Childs Solo: Mikhail Baryshikov Music: Arcangelo Corelli, Concerti Grossi Op. 6 Lighting: Les Dickert Early Floating (1961), choreographed by Erick Hawkins June 19 and 22nd: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Zane Booker, Emily Coates, Roger C. Jeffrey June 20, 21 & 23: Miguel Anaya, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Roger C. Jeffrey, Rosalynde LeBlanc Music: Lucia Diugoszewski, Five Curtains of Timbre Staging & Direction: Katherine Duke Set Design: Ralph Dorazio Original costume design: Erick Hawkins; costume reconstruction: Deanna Berg The Experts (2002) by Sarah Michelson Music: Mike Iveson Jr Dancers: Miguel Anaya, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Emily Coates, Jennifer Howard, Roger C. Jeffrey, Sonja Kostich, Rosalynde LeBlanc Assistant to choreographer: Parker Lutz Lighting: Frank DenDanto III Costumes: Sarah Michelson & Tanya Uhlmann Set Design and concept: Sarah Michelson Set Construction: Frank Den Danto II with Christopher Buckley Video: Mike Taylor Chacony (2002) by Lucinda Childs Music: Benjamin Britten, Sinfonetta: Tarantella Presto Vivace; String Quartet #2: Chacony Sostenuto Dancers: The Company Lighting: Les Dickert Costumes: Deanna Berg Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Box Office(413/243-0745 Web Site: http://www.jacobspillow.org Performances: June 19-23, 2002; Wed-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including two intermissions Reviewed by Elyse Sommerbased on June 20th performance |
6,500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.